Report

Perceived exertion responses to wheelchair propulsion between novice and trained individuals.

Trained wheelchair rugby players see no differences between peripheral rate of perceived exertion (RPEP) and central (RPEC) irrespective of disability whilst peripheral RPE was significantly greater than central RPE in untrained able-bodied adults.

Lead academic:
Mike Hutchinson
Additional academics:
Jonathan Kilgallon, Christof Leicht, Vicky Tolfrey
Funder:
No specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Introduction:

For adults with a spinal cord injury (SCI) the exercise guidelines recommend engaging in at least 20 min aerobic exercise, twice weekly, at a moderate to vigorous intensity.

Though objective markers such as oxygen uptake (V̇O2) and heart rate (HR) are preferred for prescribing exercise intensity, the ease of application of Ratings of Perceived Exertion (RPE) offers an enticing alternative. More evidence is required to understand RPE responses in persons with SCI to inform its use for exercise prescription.

When differentiating RPE, participants can report a peripheral RPE (RPEP), based on the exertion of the active muscles, and central RPE (RPEC) based on cardio-respiratory cues. Trained wheelchair rugby players with cervical SCI (CSCI) show no difference in the relationships between overall RPE (RPEO), RPEP, or RPEC, and V̇O2, or the differentiated RPE at peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2peak).

Study aim: To investigate the effect of training status on the differentiated RPE response to incremental exercise by comparing responses in AB and trained athletes with CSCI.

Methods:

38 participants (AB: n = 20; wheelchair rugby athletes with CSCI: n = 9; without CSCI: n = 9) completed an incremental wheelchair propulsion test to exhaustion on a motorised treadmill. Gas exchange measures and heart rate (HR) were collected throughout.

RPEP and RPEC on the Category Ratio-10 were verbally recorded each minute.

Blood lactate concentration ([BLa]) was determined post-test.

Main findings:

  • Between 50–100% peak oxygen uptake (V̇O2peak), RPEPwas greater than RPEC in AB, but not in athletes with or without CSCI.
  • RPEPwas greater in AB compared to players with CSCI, as were respiratory exchange ratio (1.02 ±â€…0.10 vs 0.82 ±â€…0.11) and [BLa]peak (7.98 ±â€…2.53 vs 4.66 ±â€…1.57 mmol·L−1).
  • RPECwas greater in athletes without CSCI compared to those with CSCI, as were HR (166 ±â€…20 vs 104 ±â€…15 beats·min−1) and ventilation (59.2 ±â€…28.8 vs 35.1 ±â€…16.6 L·min−1).
  • RPEPwas dominant over RPEC during wheelchair propulsion for untrained AB participants.
  • For athletes with CSCI, lower RPEP and RPEC were reported at the same %V̇O2peak compared to those without CSCI.

Reference:

Hutchinson MJ, Kilgallon JW, Leicht CA, Goosey-Tolfrey VL. Perceived exertion responses to wheelchair propulsion differ between novice able-bodied and trained wheelchair sportspeople. J Sci Med Sport. 2020 Apr;23(4):403-407. DOI: 10.1016/j.jsams.2019.10.012. Epub 2019 Oct 23. PMID: 31706827.